AVMC vs TSME

AVMCAAvantis U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF

TSMECThrivent Small-Mid Cap Equity ETF

In short

AVMC The forgotten middle of the US market, run the Avantis way: roughly 600 mid-cap names tilted toward cheaper stocks with stronger profits, at 0.18% a year. Systematic active management priced like an index fund.

TSME Active stock picking pointed at the part of the US market where it still has room to work: small and mid caps, run by Thrivent's own managers since 2022 and priced at the going rate for active equity rather than a premium.

Stated mandate

AVMC Seeks long-term capital appreciation through a broad portfolio of U.S. mid-cap companies, emphasizing securities with lower valuations and higher profitability ratios.

TSME The Fund seeks long-term capital growth.

Why people hold it

• AVMC 0.18% a year, against a 0.65% median for active US equity funds. Index-fund pricing on an active mandate.
• Spreads the value-and-profitability tilt across roughly 600 mid-caps, so it leans on the screen rather than a handful of concentrated picks.avantisinvestors.com
• One of the strongest implementations in our active US equity group, sitting with large-cap sibling AVLC and the Dimensional core funds.
• Pure mid-cap exposure with a quarterly distribution, filling the gap most portfolios leave between mega-caps and small caps.

• TSME A live stock picker, not an index clone, working in US small and mid caps. The cheap leaders in its active-equity cohort (DFAU, AVLC) mostly fish in large caps.
• The 0.65% expense ratio sits right at the median for active US equity funds, so the active mandate does not come with a surcharge versus the active field.
• Portfolio construction and staying power both hold up in a crowded active-equity field, placing the fund in the upper half of its peer group.
• Trading friction is mild for an active fund, so buying and selling costs less than it does on thinly traded small-cap products.

Worth knowing

• AVMC Trades lighter than the giant index ETFs, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads at the moment you transact.
• Launched in 2023, so the live record is short. There's no published index behind it either: outcomes come from Avantis' own valuation and profitability rules.
• All mid-cap, no mega-cap ballast, plus a tilt away from expensive names. Both can put it out of step with a market led by the largest growth stocks.

• TSME Small and mid caps swing harder than large caps, and the mandate keeps the fund parked there through the rough stretches.
• Against index-style large-cap peers such as DFAU at 0.12%, the 0.65% fee is a wide gap that the stock picking has to work against.
• Launched in 2022, so the track record is short and payouts arrive once or twice a year rather than monthly.

Full AVMC profile⁠

Full TSME profile⁠